​The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has issued a Final Notice to a former employee of a major EU bank, prohibiting him from performing any function in relation to any regulated financial activity. The individual had been employed to trade interest rate derivative products referenced to benchmarks including the Euro Interbank Offered Rate.

The FCA had previously issued a Decision Notice to the former trader in April 2017 imposing a prohibition and a fine of £6.5 million, following a finding that, between March 2005 and June 2009, the former trader had been knowingly concerned in a contravention by his employer of Principle 5 of the FCA's Principles for Businesses, which requires firms to observe proper standards of market conduct.

The former trader referred the Decision Notice to the Upper Tribunal in May 2017. At the time, he was also the subject of criminal proceedings based on substantially the same matters as the FCA's investigation and proceedings were stayed in the Upper Tribunal pending the outcome of that prosecution. The former trader pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud in the criminal action and was sentenced to five years and four months imprisonment in July 2018. He was also ordered to pay £2.5 million by way of confiscation order. The Upper Tribunal published its decision on September 14, 2018. It directed the FCA not to impose a financial penalty and otherwise ordered that the reference be dismissed. The FCA's initial decision to impose a prohibition now stands as its final decision.

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